A new City Council in New Rochelle has been in office only a month, but it has been busy. Two developers are seeking a favorable vote to move ahead with their proposals. The City Manager has gone so far as to recommend that the City move the City Yard from Main Street to Beechwood Avenue. Several “gun-point” crimes has occurred. With this perspective the Westchester Guardian sought out former Councilman Richard St. Paul (who also ran for Mayor) to ask him for his perspective on the changes in the City that have taken place since he left the Council.
Questions and answers:
1. Many people feel your presence on the New Rochelle City Council will be sorely missed. Do you feel there are any areas of the Council’s policy making powers that will change or be de-emphasized since you left?
Answer: One of the biggest differences now is that the Democrats have a super majority and there are no limitations on what they can do, such as bonding and overriding the tax cap. It is difficult for taxpayers and good government because the City no longer has a 4 (Democrats) to 3 (Republicans) split.
2. Your opposition to corruption in our City, such as the Fevang conviction, was always evident. Do you think the Council will continue to be vigilant in this area?
Answer: I only hope they will continue to root out corruption and protect the taxpayers and their dollars. the damage from the Fevang incident has never been fully investigated and I believe it should be.
3. This year’s budget was particularly painful and it did not appear that there was as much effort to cut items from the budget. Instead the refuse feel was increased from $66 to $233. Did you consider the refuse fee the best option to increase revenue?
Answer: Absolutely not. I still believe this fee should not have been increased. I think that the City has the ability to make more cuts so you would not have a refuse fee of this proportion. Not only did I believe we could have cut more more from the budget, I presented a plan to cut money from budgeted items and a plan to bring more revenue to the budget by extending garbage fees to universities and colleges in the City and fostering legislation to revitalize economic development in New Rochelle which passed unanimously on City Council.
4. You championed the need to increase retail rather than residential development in New Rochelle. This resulted in the approval of a development consultant. Why did you feel the staff of the City and the BID (Business Improvement District) could not attract retail that would be successful, especially in the downtown?
Answer: I believe that the BID and the City had done what they could with the resources they had, and it was time to add resources to infuse us with economic development, especially retail.
5. Do you feel the City Council stresses their policy making power, or do you feel they tend to approve the initiatives of the City Manager?
Answer: I think it is important for the City Council to guide their agenda. As a policy making body, the Council should set goals that the City Manager should execute. These goals should be clearly defined, transparent, and provide an opportunity for citizens’ input, and then presented to the City Manager for additional input. Finally policies should then be reviewed and finalized by the City Council.
6. Do appointments to various boards and commissions which have powers, such as the IDA (Industrial Development Agency) or Planning Board reduce the power of the electorate to influence important decisions in the City?
Answer: The responsibility that relates to the IDA should be reviewed and the City Council should be able to veto their decisions. The IDA should not have unmitigated and unchecked powers to deal with taxpayers dollars without review and approval from the body that appointed them.
7, In the future, what do you envision as the best way for citizens and civic organizations to present their concerns to the City Council?
Answer: We have to utilize technology in that sense and have an opportunity to interact by creating a web. Having I-pads for Council members instead of the tons of paper used at Council meetings would be helpful. Moving in this direction is important. Council meetings are already on television. So the goal is transparency. I think that by allowing constituents to send responses during meetings and using technology and having a small time set aside during meetings for these communications .would allow misunderstandings to be corrected quickly.
8. In January the Echo Bay developer came back to Council with a highly reduced plan, asking for a 60 day extension of the MOU (memorandum of understanding). What do you feel is the best course of action for the City at this time?
Answer: I think it is best for Council to review the plan, have constituents comment and decide if it is economically beneficial to the City. Certainly since this new plan is one-third of the original plan, I would throw caution to the winds, especially since it involves moving the City Yard at a high cost to taxpayers, $20-30 million which is the estimate given to us in the past.
9. Will you continue to be the advocate for the best interests of New Rochelle?
Answer: Absolutely. I have had the best interests of New Rochelle and not the best interest of groups, like developers when I made decisions.
10. Do you have any plans for the future you would like to share?
Answer: I think we are at a key pivotal point in New Rochelle where we must ready ourselves for an economy that will be coming back in a few years. Spending time approving large scale projects is not a model that has worked in the City and not paid off financially. We must focus on what’s important for the City to thrive in the future. These proposed projects should be guided and evaluated by what’s good for New Rochelle and what’s profitable.
In the Febuary 9,2012 issue of Westchester Guardian
